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Mulching tips for the landscaper

Editor’s note: This article is from the archives of the MSUCrop Advisory Team
Alerts. Check the label of any pesticide referenced to ensure your use is
included.

Several
of our Extension educators report getting a number of calls and
questions regarding landscape mulch; How much? What’s the best mulch?
And so on.

Over
the past few years we’ve conducted a trial on several mulch types in
replicated mini-landscapes at the MSU Horticulture Teaching and Research
Center. The mulches we used were ground pine bark, hardwood bark,
cypress mulch and ground pallets (the ubiquitous red mulch). We also
included two treatments without mulch; either with or without weed
control. The take-home message from the research is the properly applied
mulch consistently improves soil moisture availability, weed control
and plant growth compared to plots without mulch, even if the plots were
kept weed free. Most of the mulches worked equally well. Plants in the
cypress bark plots grew a little slower and had lower rates of
photosynthesis than the other mulches, but were still ahead of the
mulch-free plots. So the final decision on the choice of mulch for most
homeowners and landscapers will come down to a matter of cost and
aesthetics. (view photos)

The
advantages of organic mulches (improved soil properties, ease of
application) usually outweigh the advantages of inorganic mulches such
as river rock or white rock.

Two to three inches of mulch is adequate – more is not better.

Don’t pile mulch around the base of trees (the dreaded mulch volcano) – keep a 6-inch mulch-free ring around trees.

Don’t
use uncomposted grass clippings or leaves as mulch – they will form a
thick, smelly, unsightly mat that inhibits moisture and oxygen movement
to plant roots.

Note: Thanks to Kalamazoo Landscape Supply for donating the mulches for the project.

Related Resources

David Smitley, Michigan State University Department of Entomology, and Deborah G. McCullough, Michigan State University Departments of Entomology and Forestry | Guidelines for homeowners with hemlock trees infested with hemlock woolly adelgid.

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